Condo sales strong at Morgan Building

The demand for upscale living in downtown Spokane continues to be strong as 18 of a proposed 31 condominiums in the historic Morgan Building have been reserved within the first six months they were offered for sale.

The six-story Morgan Building, at 315 W. Riverside Ave., was built in 1909 as a single-room occupancy hotel. Developer Ron Wells and his partners have divided the building up into residential or office condominiums, ranging in size from 640 to 1,880 square feet. They range in price from $225,000 to $550,000.

The building’s basement will include a wine cellar and storage space for sale or lease, Wells said. In addition, a 31-space covered parking garage will be built adjacent to the building, on the northwest corner of Bernard and Sprague, Wells said.

Wells’ partners are Remax of Spokane owners Bill Main Jr. and his wife, Sarah Leverett-Main, Remax agent Brian Main, Jim and Brett Sullivan of Flagstone Development Group and a silent investor from California, Wells said.

Bill Main Jr. said he has developed some single-family housing and suburban office buildings, but this is his first foray into downtown Spokane’s housing market. Last year, he and his wife bought Ron and Julie Wells’ 5,000-square-foot condominium on Riverside Avenue out of passion for downtown Spokane. One conversation led to another, Main said, and they ended up as business partners.

“Our generation is getting to the point where, it’s becoming very attractive to relocate to the downtown core,” said Main, who is in his early 50s. “We ventured on that building (the Morgan) to see what we could do for the marketplace downtown.”

The first floor of the Morgan building will be sold as retail, restaurant or office condominiums, with more office space for sale on the second floor, Wells said. Floors three through six will be primarily residential condominiums.

Last year, Wells was focusing more on developing the building into office space. But, he said, an appraisal revealed that emphasizing living units would be a better business decision.

“The market has been changing,” said Scot Auble, who appraised the Morgan Building’s potential. “The financial feasibility of residential condos has been increasing while the office markets remain fairly flat. It would take about two years to lease up as office, but here he is pre-selling units.”

Wells bought the Morgan Building in 2000 after it was gutted in a fire that destroyed the Mars Hotel.